# Summer Reading



## The Meme (Jun 24, 2010)

My summer reading books this summer are Lovely Bones and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. What were you assigned, if anything? Also, I figured out very quickly that a book I'm reading is boring to me *unless I chose to read it*.


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## departuresong (Jun 24, 2010)

Had to pick one from a list of one hundred books for AP Lit. Chose _Wuthering Heights_. Regretting it completely.


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## goldenquagsire (Jun 25, 2010)

Ohohoho.
_Vanity Fair_ - Thackery
_Our Mutual Friend_ - Dickens
_Sons and Lovers_ - D.H. Lawrence
_Jude the Obscure_ - Hardy
_The Miller's Tale_ - Chaucer
That's the current list and I'm sure our teachers will add more to it.

In addition, I've also chosen to read E.H. Carr's _What is History?_ and A.J.P. Taylor's _The Origins of the Second World War_. And that's only the stuff I'm reading for school...


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## Kratos Aurion (Jun 25, 2010)

_The Miller's Tale_ is actually pretty entertaining for Chaucer. Heck of a lot less mind-numbingly boring than, say, the _Knight's Tale_, if nothing else.

I don't have summer reading anymore (then again, I hardly have a summer break anymore); sometimes I'll read books from my brother's list for the hell of it, though. Last summer one of the books was _Slaughterhouse-Five_, for example, and I knew I'd enjoy that one because I already know I like Kurt Vonnegut. This year they're reading a bunch of math- and science-related stuff. Mostly biographies and the like. They're supposed to read _Flatland_, though, and that might be sort of interesting. Might check it out.


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## Ruby (Jun 25, 2010)

goldenquagsire said:


> _Vanity Fair_ - Thackery
> _Our Mutual Friend_ - Dickens
> _Sons and Lovers_ - D.H. Lawrence
> _Jude the Obscure_ - Hardy
> _The Miller's Tale_ - Chaucer


_What_.  What is this for?  A-level English?  But I know people who study that and, as far as I can tell, they are asked to read much, much less.  That is an awful lot of pages.


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## goldenquagsire (Jun 25, 2010)

Kratos Aurion said:


> _The Miller's Tale_ is actually pretty entertaining for Chaucer. Heck of a lot less mind-numbingly boring than, say, the _Knight's Tale_, if nothing else.


I thought Chaucer was supposed to be great. After all, his stuff is still on syllabuses after ~7 centuries. :o



> What. What is this for? A-level English? But I know people who study that and, as far as I can tell, they are asked to read far less. That is an awful lot of pages.


Well firstly I don't think it's that bad. The longest novels on that list are seven hundred pages, which is easily a week's work even if I have other stuff to do. And summer is a long time. :P

Also, it's Oxbridge preparation classes so they're probably giving us more books than usual.


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## Blastoise Fortooate (Jun 25, 2010)

_Tom Sawyer _(haha I read that years ago) and one of a few other books. I'll probably read _The Lovely Bones_ since my friend has it. P:


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## Ruby (Jun 25, 2010)

goldenquagsire said:


> Well firstly I don't think it's that bad. The longest novels on that list are seven hundred pages, which is easily a week's work even if I have other stuff to do. And summer is a long time. :P


...You people who study English are show-offs.  Is the Chaucer translated or just heavy with margin notes?


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## Kratos Aurion (Jun 25, 2010)

I didn't quite word that properly, sorry. I meant to say that I enjoyed the Miller's Tale but didn't enjoy the Knight's; I haven't read all of the Tales, but those were the two that stood out as being particularly good/dull. Literature isn't really added to lists so much for its enjoyability as it is for other factors, though; at least, I'd hope teachers would realize how subjective that is. My understanding is that Chaucer's there more for history, particularly the history of English and how it developed, than it is for the entertainment value of the story itself. "Great" is subjective, and maybe you'll like the Knight's Tale more than I did (if you choose to read it... it's also a lot longer than the Miller's), who knows? But influential? Definitely.


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## goldenquagsire (Jun 26, 2010)

Ruby said:


> ...You people who study English are show-offs.


We're just compensating for our total lack of social lives. :(



> Is the Chaucer translated or just heavy with margin notes?


I've only had a brief look and it's almost impenetrable.



> I didn't quite word that properly, sorry. I meant to say that I enjoyed the Miller's Tale but didn't enjoy the Knight's; I haven't read all of the Tales, but those were the two that stood out as being particularly good/dull.


Ah, I understand now.


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## Tailsy (Jun 26, 2010)

I had to read _The Return of the Native_ and _Tess of the D'Urbervilles_ last year for Advanced Higher, but other than that I'd never had to read books for the summer for anything e__e I do work... like... during the school year.

Also hahahah good luck with _Jude the Obscure_! I hate Hardy. So much.


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## goldenquagsire (Jun 26, 2010)

Jessie said:


> Also hahahah good luck with _Jude the Obscure_! I hate Hardy. So much.


Thanks, but I'm more afraid of the thousand-page Dickens. :(


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## Tailsy (Jun 26, 2010)

goldenquagsire said:


> Thanks, but I'm more afraid of the thousand-page Dickens. :(


Well, I don't have any experience with him. But good luck, man. *salute*


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## Erif (Jun 26, 2010)

The Meme said:


> My summer reading books this summer are Lovely Bones and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. What were you assigned, if anything? Also, I figured out very quickly that a book I'm reading is boring to me *unless I chose to read it*.


Lovely Bones is an lovely book, I don't think you should be disappointed. If push comes to shove, you could just see the movie. =P

I have a rather large selection of books to chose from, all of which are very good novels. A few I've been thinking about are _The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy_, Les Mis, _Life of Pi_, _The Stranger_, and possibly a book called _The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime_.


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## The Meme (Jun 27, 2010)

> Lovely Bones is an lovely book, I don't think you should be disappointed. If push comes to shove, you could just see the movie. =P


Okay, I just might. The book itself is okay, it just isn't my thing.



> I have a rather large selection of books to chose from, all of which are very good novels. A few I've been thinking about are The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Les Mis, Life of Pi, The Stranger, and possibly a book called The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime.


The Hitchhiker's Guide and its many sequels are great,*skip a few* and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime is very good.


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## Sage Noctowl (Jun 27, 2010)

Hmm, well, the Life of Pi is pretty good especially if you like animal psychology, human psychology and religion, or even survival stories.
I have to read _The Scarlet Letter_, _Blindness_, _Benjamin Franklin_ (For AP U.S. History), and a non-fiction book of my choosing.


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## ultraviolet (Jun 27, 2010)

> Life of Pi is pretty good especially if you like animal psychology


uh what

Life of Pi is pretty good (one of my favourites) and yeah there's lots about animals in it but I wouldn't go as far to say Animal Psychology.


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## Barubu (Jun 27, 2010)

I have to read any one book of the Series of Unfortunate Events (Which I already did), or any one Diary of A Wimpy Kid books.


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## Thanks for All the Fish (Jun 27, 2010)

Small Steps by Louis Sachar. It isn't too bad, but we also have a project besides reading it; something about a business. Didn't get the book/project yet.


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## goldenquagsire (Jun 27, 2010)

RandomTyphoon said:


> Small Steps by Louis Sachar. It isn't too bad, but we also have a project besides reading it; something about a business. Didn't get the book/project yet.


am I right in thinking that they're making you read _Small Steps_ before _Holes_? that's kinda silly, since _Small Steps_ is a sequel and _Holes _is superior, imo.


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## Crazy Linoone (Jun 27, 2010)

Barubu said:


> I have to read any one book of the Series of Unfortunate Events (Which I already did), or any one Diary of A Wimpy Kid books.


How old are you and who is your teacher?! 

Because Diary of a Wimpy Kid is... well, not of a very high grade level. 

I have to read and annotate The Omnivore's Dilemma. Ugh. I don't quite understand how I'll be able to annotate a non-fiction book, but I suppose I might find out when I actually start reading it...


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## Erif (Jun 28, 2010)

The Meme said:


> The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime is very good.


What is it about, exactly?



Sage Noctowl said:


> Hmm, well, the Life of Pi is pretty good especially if you like animal psychology, human psychology and religion, or even survival stories.


The only reason it stood out to me is because my brother owns it and my step-mom recommended it, so I'll probably check it out.


Oh, and apparently they want me to read and take notes on the _Odyssey_ over the summer. _Fuck_.


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## Kratos Aurion (Jun 28, 2010)

_The Odyssey_ isn't that bad, at least not if you get a good translation. Yeah, the book is massive, but the lines are short and it shouldn't be that hard to get through.


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## Blastoise Fortooate (Jun 28, 2010)

ERIF: It is about a teen with Asperger's who goes on a myriad of interesting adventures while he investigates the death of his neighbor's poodle. It's written from his point of view, which is interesting.


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## ProgMetal_64 (Jul 1, 2010)

I only have to read one book this summer (_To Kill a Mockingbird_), but I have to do A LOT of writing to go with it (3 themes from the book, 1.5 pages each; and a full length essay on how I personally connect with a character from the book).

I suck at essays, and this assignment is 10% of my 1st semester grade. This oughta be fun...[/sarcasm]


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## Aisling (Jul 2, 2010)

Hrrng. For AP English 12 I'm having to read Fast Food Nation (which I'm done with, and had to e-mail a study guide for it to the teacher last Friday) and The Jungle (which I'm halfway done with because I thought we had to do that before FFN- I have to finish a data sheet on it next week because I'll be out of town the week it's due, and it involves analyzing the 'writing style', which is something that goes over my head). And before the first day of school I need to find a recent article relevant to the subject of each book and write a summary on it.

Fast Food Nation was pretty interesting (and sometimes grim) and the end of the "an empire of fat" bit made me depressed for a day or two. I felt like I could understand those constantly cynical people who dwell on those global problems instead of enjoying their lives that are generally unaffected. What I've read of the Jungle, on the other hand... It's a bit difficult to wade through (especially the first chapter) and way more deeply depressing than Fast Food Nation was. They'd get a house, and then find out they can get screwed out of it. They get a job, get screwed out of it. Fall in love, get screwed out of it. And apparently the second half of the book is even worse.


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## Barubu (Jul 2, 2010)

@ CL: I'm twelve and I realize that, but I've already read and tested on all Series of Unfortunate Events books, so, no choice.


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## Chief Zackrai (Jul 2, 2010)

OH MY GOD I HAVE TO READ JANE EYRE AND I HATE IT SO F****** MUCH!


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## Kratos Aurion (Jul 2, 2010)

_Jane Eyre_ bored me to tears. I sympathize, man, I really do.


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## departuresong (Jul 2, 2010)

_Jane Eyre_ isn't bad. Charlotte was the better Brontë sister by far.

Speaking of which, I still haven't touched _Wuthering Heights_. I forgot everything that happened. Looks like I'll have to re-read it... ugh.


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## Nemec (Jul 5, 2010)

Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
As You like It - Shakespeare
Shakespeare’s Sonnets 30 and 55

Luckily my mom has The Complete Works of Shakespeare and she might know where Fahrenheit 451 is. So, yeah, this is going to be fun.


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## -Chris- (Jul 6, 2010)

departuresong said:


> Speaking of which, I still haven't touched _Wuthering Heights_. I forgot everything that happened. Looks like I'll have to re-read it... ugh.


Luckily there is a song about _Wuthering Heights_.  I think that should cover anything you need to know about the book.


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## departuresong (Jul 6, 2010)

Heh, I love Kate Bush. She was obviously very high when the music video was made.


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## Vladimir Putin's LJ (Jul 7, 2010)

A bunch of Portuguese books no one cares about and for Ap English I have to read East of Eden (Steinbeck) and MacBeth (Shakespeare). Then we also have to choose one book out of these seven:

Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy
I Married a Communist by Phillip Roth 
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Room at the Top by John Braine
David Copperfield by Charles Dickes
The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

and then write a 4000 word essay about it. I'm probably going to end up picking The Great Gatsby but since I have two months I figured I'd read all of them. So right now I'm at the start of Wuthering Heights and it's alright. After that I'll do East of Eden and then I'll probably start The Great Gatsby.


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## departuresong (Jul 7, 2010)

_The Great Gatsby_ is wonderful... Quick, entertaining, and not difficult at all to analyze. I really enjoyed it.

(plus there is like a stealthy post-gay-sex scene at the very end of chapter two that nobody except me noticed)


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## goldenquagsire (Jul 7, 2010)

oh god yes _The Great Gatsby_ is seriously good. I also have a year's worth of accumulated notes (mostly typed up) from English class, should you require them. ^_~



> (plus there is like a stealthy post-gay-sex scene at the very end of chapter two that nobody except me noticed)


our crazy awesome feminist pro-LGBT american teacher actually spent a long time explaining this scene to us. :o


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## Vladimir Putin's LJ (Jul 7, 2010)

departuresong said:


> (plus there is like a stealthy post-gay-sex scene at the very end of chapter two that nobody except me noticed)


Welp. *throw Wuthering Heights to the dogs*

I was going to read it anyway but since everyone tells me how awesome it is I'll definitely do it :B and thanks for the offer, GQ! I might get back to you on this when I'm writing my essay (probably a day before I have to hand it in).


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## goldenquagsire (Jul 8, 2010)

cool, just PM me when you need it. enjoy the book first~


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## spaekle (Jul 8, 2010)

Mine happens to be _In Pursuit of Elegance_ by Matthew E. May.

...I should probably get to finding it. I just found out about the assignment today. :| I'm reading an excerpt online right now, though, and it seems pretty interesting.


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## hopeandjoy (Jul 8, 2010)

The Gifted Kids' Survival Guide: A Teen Handbook by Judy Galbraith, M.D. and Jim Delisle, Ph.D. and Oedipus Rex.



			
				Tom Lehrer said:
			
		

> There once lived a man named Oedipus Rex
> You may have heard about his odd complex
> His name appears in Freud's index
> Cause he *loved* his mother!


Yes, I am going into my Freshman year of High School. Why do you ask?


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## Lili (Jul 8, 2010)

I'm trying to finish up the Series of Unfortunate Events and the Harry Potter series.


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## Shiny Grimer (Jul 9, 2010)

Wuthering Heights as well. Adequate enough.


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## The Meme (Jul 10, 2010)

> What I've read of the Jungle, on the other hand... It's a bit difficult to wade through (especially the first chapter) and way more deeply depressing than Fast Food Nation was. They'd get a house, and then find out they can get screwed out of it. They get a job, get screwed out of it. Fall in love, get screwed out of it. And apparently the second half of the book is even worse.


The _most_ depressing book ever!!

And I'm about three hundred miles away from my summer reading books seeing as I'm on vacation from my Summer Vacation.


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